THE FATHER
****
Director: Florian Zeller
Screenplay: Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton, based on the play by Florian Zeller.
Principal cast:
Anthony Hopkins
Olivia Colman
Mark Gatiss
Olivia Williams
Imogen Poots
Rufus Sewell
Country: UK/France
Classification: M
Runtime: 97 mins.
Australian release date: 1 April 2021.
It’s not surprising that there is a spate of films dealing with aging, Alzheimer’s and dementia at the current moment - of course, they’ve been appearing more frequently for a couple of decades now (Still Alice and others), but we are starting to see more. They are a global phenomenon too, cropping up in many countries’ movie productions, so it’s a safe assumption that it has a lot to do with the aging of that huge post-war generation known as the Baby Boomers. They’re certainly not babies anymore and they are living longer, thanks to advances in medical science. Where medicine hasn’t been quite as beneficial is in the treatment of those areas of the brain that break down with age, too, and now many families and adult offspring are having to deal with the terrible effects of their partner’s or parents’ mental degradation. Soon-to-be-released films on this subject are Supernova and June Again but, first, there is UK/France co-production The Father.
This powerful story is the work of the French playwright Florian Zeller, who is also the debutant director of the film. His play was first performed in Paris in 2012, where it won a Moliere Award for Best Play, before moving on to Broadway and the West End, where it won both Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Actor (for Frank Langella and Kenneth Cranham respectively). For the screenplay of The Father, Zeller called in the talents of Oscar-winning writer Christopher Hampton, and together they successfully turned the play into a movie. Even though most of the action takes place in one location, the subtly changing set fools the viewer and you never think you are watching a film of a play. Tony (Anthony Hopkins) is an 81-year-old man who thinks that his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) is scheming to put him into a nursing home so that she can take possession of his London flat. Or is she trying to organise in-home care for him so that she can move to Paris with her new lover? Or is she still married and she and her husband have moved into the flat with him? And why hasn’t his other daughter, his favourite, been in touch with him for so long when he is dying to hear her voice? All these plotlines, and others, play out before us, until we are just as confused as Tony. What’s really going on?
Zeller (and Hampton) have crafted an extraordinary film, cleverly keeping the viewer as bewildered as Tony and Anne are. Anne is played by two actresses at various times (the other one is Olivia Williams) and her husband likewise (Mark Gatiss and Rufus Sewell). Hopkins is a tour-de-force as the capricious old man who’s totally sure of himself even while he’s not sure at all what is happening to him. His rage and confusion are palpable and will, at times, bring tears to your eyes. Colman is his match as a woman torn between her love of her father and her need to live her own life. Both actors have been nominated for Academy Awards – it would have been a dreadful oversight had they not - and the movie is also up for Best Picture (in fact, it has earned nominations in six categories overall).
Talking about The Father, Zeller said that he had never had any desire to preach to audiences about people’s treatment of the aged. “Cinema is a place for questions, not answers,” he recently told The Guardian. “[The] daughter is in a painful situation. She’s trying her best but she understands that love isn’t enough. It must be so hard becoming the parent of your own parent, or to leave them in an institution. The film is not about telling people what they should do. There is a consolation, a very real and beautiful one, in remembering that we are all in the same boat. Art reminds us we are not just individuals. We are part of something larger.”
Screenplay: Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton, based on the play by Florian Zeller.
Principal cast:
Anthony Hopkins
Olivia Colman
Mark Gatiss
Olivia Williams
Imogen Poots
Rufus Sewell
Country: UK/France
Classification: M
Runtime: 97 mins.
Australian release date: 1 April 2021.
It’s not surprising that there is a spate of films dealing with aging, Alzheimer’s and dementia at the current moment - of course, they’ve been appearing more frequently for a couple of decades now (Still Alice and others), but we are starting to see more. They are a global phenomenon too, cropping up in many countries’ movie productions, so it’s a safe assumption that it has a lot to do with the aging of that huge post-war generation known as the Baby Boomers. They’re certainly not babies anymore and they are living longer, thanks to advances in medical science. Where medicine hasn’t been quite as beneficial is in the treatment of those areas of the brain that break down with age, too, and now many families and adult offspring are having to deal with the terrible effects of their partner’s or parents’ mental degradation. Soon-to-be-released films on this subject are Supernova and June Again but, first, there is UK/France co-production The Father.
This powerful story is the work of the French playwright Florian Zeller, who is also the debutant director of the film. His play was first performed in Paris in 2012, where it won a Moliere Award for Best Play, before moving on to Broadway and the West End, where it won both Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Actor (for Frank Langella and Kenneth Cranham respectively). For the screenplay of The Father, Zeller called in the talents of Oscar-winning writer Christopher Hampton, and together they successfully turned the play into a movie. Even though most of the action takes place in one location, the subtly changing set fools the viewer and you never think you are watching a film of a play. Tony (Anthony Hopkins) is an 81-year-old man who thinks that his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) is scheming to put him into a nursing home so that she can take possession of his London flat. Or is she trying to organise in-home care for him so that she can move to Paris with her new lover? Or is she still married and she and her husband have moved into the flat with him? And why hasn’t his other daughter, his favourite, been in touch with him for so long when he is dying to hear her voice? All these plotlines, and others, play out before us, until we are just as confused as Tony. What’s really going on?
Zeller (and Hampton) have crafted an extraordinary film, cleverly keeping the viewer as bewildered as Tony and Anne are. Anne is played by two actresses at various times (the other one is Olivia Williams) and her husband likewise (Mark Gatiss and Rufus Sewell). Hopkins is a tour-de-force as the capricious old man who’s totally sure of himself even while he’s not sure at all what is happening to him. His rage and confusion are palpable and will, at times, bring tears to your eyes. Colman is his match as a woman torn between her love of her father and her need to live her own life. Both actors have been nominated for Academy Awards – it would have been a dreadful oversight had they not - and the movie is also up for Best Picture (in fact, it has earned nominations in six categories overall).
Talking about The Father, Zeller said that he had never had any desire to preach to audiences about people’s treatment of the aged. “Cinema is a place for questions, not answers,” he recently told The Guardian. “[The] daughter is in a painful situation. She’s trying her best but she understands that love isn’t enough. It must be so hard becoming the parent of your own parent, or to leave them in an institution. The film is not about telling people what they should do. There is a consolation, a very real and beautiful one, in remembering that we are all in the same boat. Art reminds us we are not just individuals. We are part of something larger.”